


Never Laugh at Live Dragons

by lamerezouille



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-10
Updated: 2014-05-10
Packaged: 2018-01-24 06:56:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1595744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lamerezouille/pseuds/lamerezouille
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Queen and King have been turned into dragons, and it’s on Merlin's shoulders that falls the responsibility of solving this (minor) problem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Laugh at Live Dragons

‘Well, it could be worse,’ Merlin said with what he hoped would be perceived as assurance.

‘Really, Merlin? Really?’ Gaius answered, his voice infused with panic and his eyebrow raised to alarming heights. ‘How can things get worse than the king and queen of Camelot being turned in two-headed _fire-breathing_ dragons?’

Merlin glanced at the kingly couple from behind the upturned table that served as their temporary shelter. He had to glance regularly to convince himself he wasn’t dreaming and that Arthur and Gwen had indeed been turned into dragons. He had no idea how that had happened, but like he’d told Gaius, it could be worse.

‘Well, they haven’t killed anyone, for one,’ he said, as placating as he could.

‘YET!’ Gaius shouted, proving that Merlin hadn’t managed to placate anything. ‘They’ve already destroyed half the throne room, and we can only be grateful they only seem to want to attack each other for the moment.’

‘It _could_ be worse,’ Merlin insisted. ‘I _am_ a Dragonlord, after all. I’ll just…talk to them!’

‘And how do you intend to explain to Arthur how you talked to a pair of pairs of dragons if he ever regains his body?’

Ah. Gaius and his relevant points.

‘I don’t know,’ Merlin hissed, more than a little annoyed, now. The sound of Arthur and Gwen thrashing what little was left of the room wasn’t really helping him _think._ ‘We’d have to knock them out first, but how do you knock out a dragon? Plus, I don’t think knocked-out dragons are very talkative.’

‘You have to find out what caused the transformation, Merlin. It’s the only chance we have to reverse it.’ Merlin hated how Gaius sometimes said _we_ when it was time to save the day but _you_ when it was time for gruelling work.

He glanced at Arthur and Gwen again and—

‘What are they _doing_?’ Merlin exclaimed, a bit too loudly for someone who didn’t want to get spotted by the dragons in the room.

Gwen was on one side of the room and Arthur on the other, and they seemed to be throwing the half-charcoaled thrones to one another.

‘Are they playing some kind of game?’

‘It seems they are, Merlin, and it means we have to act rapidly. For when you play a game of thrones, you win or you die,’ Gaius answered wisely. Or it would have been wisely if it had actually made sense.

Merlin spared a moment wondering if Gaius had finally lost it before concentrating again on their main problem. What could have caused this more than unfortunate transformation? What had been _different_ today?

Arthur had woken up, as usual. He’d yelled at Merlin, as usual. He’d had breakfast with Gwen, as usual. He’d teased Merlin about something or another whilst Gwen chastised him, as usual. They’d opened today’s batch of belated wedding gifts, as…what?

‘I think I know what happened, Gaius!’ Merlin exclaimed, more than a little proud. ‘One of their wedding gifts must have been enchanted!’

‘That’s very good, Merlin, but _which one_?’ Gaius’s voice got a bit wobbly as a loose flame landed a few paces from where they were hiding.

Think, Merlin, think! What ostentatious and useless thing did they receive today? There were two or three vases, a set of silk sheets, a golden-plated armour, and—

‘The rings!’

They had received twin rings in an inconspicuous yet unmarked box, and had put them on their fingers soon after. Merlin was very proud of his second epiphany of the day, and hoped he could get the rings in time. The dragons had finished destroying the Queen’s throne, and the King’s was already very close to the end of its majestic life. He had to do something before the game of thrones became a game of tables and their shelter was blown off.

He peeked over the table and, now that he knew what he was looking for, he could see the faintly glowing rings on the big scaly lumps that seemed to serve as the dragons’ fingers. Merlin waited for both of them to be in his field of vision and somewhat immobile, and as soon as he had a visual, he infused as much magic as he could in his words and incanted.

There was a short moment when Merlin thought it hadn’t worked, but then the rings glowed a bit brighter and got expelled from the dragons’ fingers, with the clinking sound of metal on marble. Within seconds, Arthur and Gwen were human beings once again. Merlin was so happy, he could have hugged them both. He didn’t though, because they were both naked—their clothes having been torn to shreds when they turned into dragons—and it would not have been appropriate at all.

Another thing that kept Merlin from hugging Arthur was the look on his face when he took in the state of the throne room. Merlin didn’t know why, but given his track record, he was certain he would end up being blamed for all the mess.

At least, now Merlin was immune to any shouting that could occur. All he’d have to do was remember Arthur as a dragon. It could always be worse.


End file.
